The anaerobic needs of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete are essential as well. Athletes who fall short of these recommendations will benefit from increasing aerobic power training. According to, this would be considered a high VO 2 max in the 99 th percentile. Andreato, Lara, also stated the numbers were between 42 and 52 ml/kg in their secondary study. note that the average VO 2 max in their competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu cohort was 49.4 ml/kg per minute. To test aerobic power, the exercise specialist would use the Bruce treadmill test to analyze the VO 2 max. Physiologically this means our athletes need to demonstrate more prolonged bouts of energy more with more aerobic efficiency to prevent early fatigue. showed that due to the high effort to pause ratio, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is mostly an aerobic sport with moderate contributions from the glycolytic system. The athlete's ability to demonstrate aerobic power is essential for both circumstances, particularly the latter. Five-minute matches have the potential to be slow and methodical similar to human chess or non-stop high-speed grappling. It is, therefore, the job of the exercise scientists to perform the needs analysis of each competitor to make sure any attribute is not lacking.Īerobic power can be considered the foundation of a competitive Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu athlete.
The athlete must be able to explode with strength and speed but also demonstrate a solid foundation of endurance to continue for five straight minutes of grappling. The sport of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu requires high levels of aerobic conditioning, anaerobic power, strength, flexibility. For the sake of this article, we will discuss the needs of the beginner competing in a 5-minute match, as that is the most common division.
Each of these requires very different physical attributes depending on the style of the bout. Beginner matches start at a length of 5 minutes, where high-level competition can go up to 20 minutes in a single round. Depending on the style and competition selection, athletes are exposed to a wide variety of match times, making the endurance, strength, and even flexibility demands variable. The physical nature and needs of the athletes in the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu are unique.